MERCEDES-BENZ C 200 CGI Review

As we mentioned before, the C 200 CGI's suspension setup is the closest thing to a perfect compromise between sportiness and comfort, with the obvious accent put on the latter. Every speed bump and smaller pothole is swallowed by each wheel without a single tremble inside, as long as the "attack speed" is decent.

Additionally, the 17 inch rims have an adequate amount of tire "meat" on them and the boys in Stuttgart haven't switched to run-flat tires... like some of their competitors have (cough! – BMW! - cough!) on their cars. Other than that, the seats are some of the most comfortable pieces of automotive furniture we've ever tested, right up there with the Opel Insignia, the Infiniti G 37 Sedan and the Honda Accord. Sadly, their side bolsters are almost insignificant, so the sportier (and slimmer) drivers might want to switch to the optional, more dynamic ones.

As far as the acoustic comfort goes, at low speeds the C 200 CGI is nearly silent, while the extraordinary, Prius-like, drag coefficient of 0.26 keeps wind noises away at highway speed. The audio system is not exactly bragging material compared to the optional Harman Kardon 7.1 Dolby Surround, but for a mid-level system it's more than adequate and it certainly doesn't disappoint. All in all, the C 200 CGI is as comfortable as you would expect a car wearing this badge to be.

Despite having a somewhat old range of engines when it was first introduced in 2007, the C-Klasse has been constantly updated ever since, and the powerplant found on our test car was as modern as they get.

Even though it's using the "200" designation, the four-cylinder engine actually has a displacement of 1.8-liters. Sadly for Mercedes-Benz purists, but thankfully for the more fuel-conscious drivers, it is turbocharged instead of supercharged, while the "CGI" part is a trademarked way of telling us that a direct injection system has finally made its way on this little four-banger as well.

When we first heard that a turbo was responsible for the removal of the retro - and rather catchy – "Kompressor" badges, we immediately thought "turbo lag". Thankfully, this was not exactly the case, since the turbocharger itself is following the LPT (Low Pressure Turbocharger) trend and it's just a tad bit larger than the exhaust manifold's radius. Of course, there is some lag but it's not as bad as you might first think, especially since the automatic transmission is much better than its actual age might recommend you.

There are no less than 184 horsepower available on tap, while the 270 Nm (199.1 lb ft) of torque available at the same level from as low as 1800 rpm to 4600 rpm can actually make you think this is a much larger, normally-aspirated engine. Good stuff!

Oddly, our test car didn't have that "inert" steering feeling other Mercedes have, despite using a similar technology. The level of assistance is just right and it naturally becomes less assisted with the increase of speed. We suspect that the optional "Agility Control" packaged should make things even more interesting from this point of view.

As we mentioned before, the five-speed automatic transmission on our test model was pretty old, since it first appeared in the middle of the 1990s on the W140 S-Klasse. Despite this, the constant upgrade of its ECU and other modifications over the years have managed to keep it as fresh as ever. We would go as far as to say it's better than quite a large number of newer transmissions when it comes to both shift times, comfort and fuzzy logic.

Considering our test car didn't even have one of the optional paint schemes available, we first figured the level of useful toys inside would be pretty low. We were and we weren't right. Yes, there was no navigation system onboard, no radar-based cruise control system or even a folding rear seat, but apart from these, the amount of gadgets was rather high.

Let's first start with the standard dual-zone climate control system called Thermatic, which, believe it or not, has a bigger brother that's a bit more skilled. The one from our car "only" had two zones, while the optional "Thermotronic" has three and even takes into account things like the angle of the sun rays shining over the car when it's trying to keep the inside temperature steady.

Since we're at the cooling and heating part, the electrically-controlled front seats were also three-stage heated. Oddly, they weren't fully-electrical, since the forward motion of the seat could only be made manually by pulling a lever. Of course, this kind of made us wonder at the level of money saved by making the seats only partially electrically-controlled, but hey, we're not that good with numbers.

Anyway, the four lateral windows were all obviously electrically-operated and had an automatic function, while the windshield wipers were connected to a rain sensor. Apart from the surprisingly good performance of the auto-box, the best gadget we found in the car was the Intelligent Light System. Using bi-xenon headlights, this system not only lights around corners, but it also automatically reduces or increases the headlight beam depending on the weather and driving conditions. How cool is that?

With five whole stars at EuroNCAP's test and "good" marks at the IIHS, the new W204 C-Klasse is one of the safest cars in its class, if not the safest. At least when it comes to passive safety, that is. The very stiff safety cell (from the inventors of the safety cell, remember) together with intricate crumple zones weren't the only things that made the "C" receive top marks, as the standard array of airbags is also more than helpful in the unfortunate situation of an accident.

No less than seven airbags are fitted on the car in standard: two frontal airbags with dual-stage, two side thorax airbags, two head airbags that stretch from the front to the rear and a knee airbag for the driver. Two more thorax airbags are available as an option for the rear passengers, which would bring the total number available to nine.

As far as the active safety features go, the C 200 CGI we tested is as equipped as a C 350 or even the C 63 AMG, since Mercedes has been including the electronic stability control in standard on all its cars for about a decade now. For the sake of argument, our test car was fitted with an anti-lock braking system, electronic stability control with hill-start assist, anti-skid regulator and emergency braking assist. If that's not enough to calm the spirits about the C-Klasse's safety, we don't know what is.

The best part about it is obviously the feeling you have once you climb inside. It's all in the little details, which kind of make it as understated as any Mercedes-Benz should be. Despite not being filled with gadgets, at least at first glance, the C 200 CGI managed to surprise us by providing a simple yet hard to attain thing: well being of its passengers. Whether doing errands in the city, driving to a business trip at highway speeds or even "kicking it" on some serpentine mountain road, you feel just a tad bit more relaxed driving a C-Klasse than other cars in its segment.

The worst bit about the C 200 CGI we drove has got to be its color. Seriously now, white only works for a very few number of cars, and most of them used to run in a certain "Group B" rally championship in the 1980s. Plus, white and chrome don't really mix except for some hip-hop videos, so it kind of made our test car look a bit too "gangsta" for our taste.

As far as the "ugly part", there is nothing like a part-artificial leather part cloth Mercedes-Benz upholstery to spice up your day. Especially when you know how smooth and elegant-looking the "Designo" optional type of leather and/or Alcantara upholstery is. Still, the "ARTICO" artificial leather was better than a full-cloth seat.